The delays have greatly impacted fishermen, especially those who own smaller boats.

Taunette Dixon is the vice president of the Newport Fishermen's Wives. After a season was delayed several years ago, the group used donations to fund a food box program, which helps struggling fishing families between seasons and over the holidays. Last season, approximately 20 families asked for the boxes. This season, more than 50 families were in need.

"Fishing is tough. You don't get an hourly wage, and there is nothing to fall back on," Dixon said. "Sometimes you have a bad season on top of the bad season."

Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission Chair John Corbin says processors and fishermen are close to reaching an agreement, but all offers are on hold until a big storm passes through the region later this week. It is expected to bring strong winds upward of 40 or 50 knots and surf up to 30 feet.

Corbin said the processors worry fishermen would set sail amid dangerous conditions because they may be desperate to start fishing.

"The last thing we want is to put an inferior product out there," Corbin told KATU. "I'm hopeful they'll reach an agreement soon."

Kaety Jacobson, marine fisheries extension agent with the Oregon Sea Grant program, says these negotiations are not uncommon. They happen from time to time.

Jacobson says the Oregon Department of Agriculture helps to mediate negotiations. If the parties reach an impasse, the state steps away, until the parties reach an agreement.

"The fishermen have to be able to pay their bills and make profit. The processing company plants also have to be able to pay their bills and make profit, and where that sweet spot is, is where those negotiations can be tricky," Jacobson said. "An agreement will be reached, it's just a matter of when."

Fish markets and grocery stores also hope that an agreement is reached soon. Markets across the state told KATU they have taken a sales hit, especially over the holiday season, when Dungeness crab is a popular dinner-table dish.

"We told our customers we would have crab mid-January," an Oregon City fish market told KATU. "With the [negotiations], now we don't know when it will be available."

Until the deal is struck, fresh, commercially caught crab won't be available, and the fishing industry sits idle.

The Oregon Dungeness crab season typically runs December through August, but most of the crab fishing takes place before March.